Metro by the Numbers: 17 - 32
April 17, 2020
#17: Giovanni Savarese, 1996-98
Sorry, Jozy Altidore. Sorry, Tim Cahill. Gio will always be the original.
#18: Tim Howard, 1998-2003
Did you know that only one non-goalie has worn #18? It was Leo Krupnik in 2009. Now let's never speak of him again. Ryan Meara has a long way to climb to challenge Timmy.
#19: Dane Richards, 2007-12
Is Richards' demolition of Houston in the 2008 playoffs still the most (unexpected) clutch performance in team history? (Dane wore another number when he returned in 2015... more on that later.)
#20: Amado Guevara, 2003-06
Oomph. Guevara vs Lindpere. Only two of our favorite Metros of all time. Guevara: three official Team MVPs, one MF Player of the Year. Lindpere: one official MVP, two MF ones. Gotta go with Guevara, though: when all is said and done, he ran the team for four years.
#21: Daniel Hernandez, 2000-02
It's Hernandez against Dema Kovalenko here. However, since Dema wore #15 during 2006, he only has a single season of #21 to put against Hernandez's two and a half. Did someone say "Brian Nielsen"? No? Thought not.
#22: Rodrigo Faria, 2001-02
Not much competition for Faria here, who is still the only Metro to win MLS Rookie of the Year. Stephen Keel and Jonny Steele weren't half-bad... but the choice here is clear, at least until Florian Valot stays healthy long enough to challenge.
#23: Eddie Pope, 2003-04
We know what you're thinking: this is where Juan Pietravallo belongs. No, no it's not. The only option to Pope is Jeff Parke's lone season with this number, 2006.
#24: Eddie Gaven, 2003-05
As we get into the higher numbers, it gets easier. Such is the case here.
#25: Brandon Barklage, 2012-13
19 players have worn #25, the second most popular number behind #9. Barklage is the best of the average bunch... Are you hearing this, Mathias Jorgensen? Probably not.
#26: Tim Parker, 2018-
Hooray! Parker is here to save us from the reign of Taylor Graham. Four other players to wear #26 (Gerson Echeverry, Carlos Ledesma, Fausto Klinger, and Chris Megaloudis) only did so for one game. The other is Omer Damari (who would have dethroned Graham if not for Parker).
#27: Sean Davis, 2015-
The first homegrown captain in team history, a huge part of the 2018 Shield, easily takes over for Kosuke Kimura.
#28: Paul Grafer, 2000
Jerrod Laventure might have scored one great goal, but how can anyone go against Grafer, his pants and his amazing 2000 run? (Note: Grafer wore #30 after 2000.)
#29: Eduardo Hurtado, 1998-99
Didn't Salou Ibrahim (Ibrahim Salou?) remind you of Hurtado? Bulky, slow, powerful forward, who could score... sometimes. Both wore #29. Hurtado, for all the crap of 1999, was rather good in 1998.
#30: Gonzalo Veron, 2015-17
Gonzalo Veron might be the most divisive player in team history. He takes over as the best #30 from Francis "Grandpa" Doe. Nothing should be divisive about that.
#31: Luis Robles, 2012-18
Did you know that three players wore #31 before Robles? Trick question here: neither of them wore it in a game. They were: Tim Mulqueen, assistant coach who was forced to dress as a backup goalkeeper in 1996, Hugh MacDonald, a reserve defender cut midway through his rookie 2007 season, and Alex Horwath, who played his lone game as #1 before switching after Frank Rost's arrival.
#32: Ibrahim Sekagya, 2013-14
The number was only worn by four players, with Markus Schopp, Luke Sassano, and Marcos Paullo being the other three. Sekagya is the obvious choice, his giveaway in the 2013 playoffs be damned.
|
